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General information
The Avis website uses cookies. A cookie is a small text file that is stored by your browser, and allows it to remember information between web pages and browser sessions. Avis uses a number of “first party” cookies - generated and used by the Avis website – and some “third party” cookies – generated on our site by third parties. They enable us to remember each part of your reservation as you go through the site, remember your customer details and display appropriate content based on your selected options and journey. They also help us to understand user behaviour within our site, which means we can make the experience better for you.
Cookies can only store text, which is always anonymous and usually encrypted. Avis will never store any personal information in a cookie.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files generated by websites that you visit holding session data that may be of use later in the site. The data allows the site to maintain your information between pages, and also to analyse the way you interact with the site.
Cookies are secure – they can only store information that is put there by the browser, which is information the user has entered into the browser or that is included in the page request. They cannot run code and they cannot be used to access your computer. If a website encrypts the information in the cookie, only that website can read the information.
There are two different types of cookies: Session and Persistent. They are used for different things and contain different information
Session cookies contain information that is used within your current browser session. These cookies are automatically deleted when you close your browser. Nothing is persisted on your machine beyond the time you spend on the site.
Persistent cookies are used to hold information that is used between visits. This data allows sites to recognise that you are a returning customer and react accordingly. Persistent cookies have a lifetime value that is set by the website, which can vary between a few minutes or several years.
Why use cookies?
Cookies are used by the site to keep your session as you progress through the site, keeping track of your reservation details and whether you’ve logged in. They are used to display relevant products within your journey.
Web analytics cookies, from our partners Google and Adobe, allow us to track customer interaction within the site. This gives us valuable insights which enable us to improve the site and the products and services we offer.
We also work with partners who will write third party cookies which are then used by advertisers on other sites to give you appropriate and relevant adverts based on your browsing history. These cookies do not store personal information enabling other sites to identify you, they are based purely on the browsing history.
Turning off and deleting cookies
All web browsers allow you to limit cookie behaviour or turn off cookies within the settings or options of the browser. The steps to do this are different for each browser, you can find instructions under the Help menu of your browser.
Through your browser you can also view the cookies that are on your computer, and delete individual ones, or purge them all.
Cookies are just text files so you can open them and read the contents. The data within them is often encrypted, or a numerical key corresponding to a web session so they often don’t make sense to anything other than the website that wrote it.
If you turn off cookies, the Avis site will not be able to create a reservation. Disabling cookies will also affect the monitoring of your progress through the site, but will not stop the analytics code from recognising your visit.
What cookies does the Avis site create?
The session cookies that Avis writes includes data used by the web server hardware about which server is processing your session, your authentication status (against the Avis customer database) and the details of your reservation.
The persistent cookies that are created by the Avis website are used by our technology partners, Adobe, Maxymiser and Google. They are used to recognise traffic to the site that is returning users rather than new customers. The information that is stored is used to serve you appropriate adverts on other sites on our behalf. Deleting these cookies won’t affect your experience or the functionality of the Avis website.
Cookies from technology partners
Adobe SiteCatalyst
Avis partner with Adobe Site Catalyst for web analytics and customer journey analysis. The data that is collected allows us to improve the site, infrastructure, products and services based on where, when and what customers look at. Adobe write both persistent and session cookies. The cookies do not store personal data. Deleting or disabling these cookies will not limit the functionality of the site.
Oracle (Estara and ATG)
Avis partner with Oracle to provide “Click to Call” and “Click to Chat” functionality – allowing the customer to talk to an agent in our contact centre if the site recognises they are having difficulty with the page. Oracle write both persistent and session cookies. The cookies do not store personal data. Deleting or disabling these cookies will not limit the functionality of the site.
Google
Avis partner with Google for web analytics and advertising. The data in the cookie tells Google what pages, products and services you have been visited, and allows them to find appropriate advertisements. Google write both persistent and session cookies. The cookies do not store personal data. Deleting or disabling these cookies will not limit the functionality of the site.
Maxymiser
Avis partner with Maxymiser to try or test different page layouts and functions. The cookie ensures that even if we are running tests on certain pages your site experience is consistent. Maxymiser write both persistent and session cookies. The cookies do not store personal data. Deleting or disabling these cookies will not limit the functionality of the site.
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